


when in doubt, hang around his step-mom’s flower shop

by shadowtraveled (meteorfest)



Series: Shadows on the Water [18]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-17
Updated: 2014-11-17
Packaged: 2018-02-25 19:17:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2633168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meteorfest/pseuds/shadowtraveled
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Nico works in Persephone's flower shop and Percy keeps coming in and buying more flowers. Nico doesn't mind, though. It lets him hang out with Percy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	when in doubt, hang around his step-mom’s flower shop

**Author's Note:**

> Written because Cedarleaf knows I will write just about anything she asks of me, with the right amount of soul-offering.

Normally, Nico hated the days he worked at his step-mother’s flower shop. The hours he put in were long and boring. The shop smelled overly sweet all the time, the air perfumed with the various scents of roses, orchids, gardenias, lilies, and about fifty other various floral smells that Nico couldn’t name and didn’t care to try to name. Flowers weren’t his thing, really. He preferred his video games, which he often played on the clock because he was so bored, especially during the slow hours. Leveling up his Pokemon to go fight the Elite Four was so much more interesting than sitting behind the counter with nothing to do.

His sisters didn’t have to watch the shop - his older sister, Bianca, had moved up-state to go to college just this past August and wouldn’t be back in town again until Christmas; Hazel, younger than Nico and deeply involved with the art club, had after school commitments that had her away until dinner most days. Hazel only ever had to work weekends and, even then, she actually liked working at the shop.

The only reason Nico had started looking forward to working at the shop after school every day was Percy.

Nico knew Percy from school, where the older boy was a senior and Nico a sophomore. For the most part, they didn’t really interact, but he did have a couple of mixed-level classes with Percy. He didn’t know him that well, since he tended to keep to himself and Percy tended to sit with Annabeth in ceramics and hang out with Frank and Jason during their shared PE class. He often overheard Percy talking, though, and had picked up a few things about him that way; Percy was 17, a New York native, had a younger half-sibling named Tyson who lived with his dad, and he spent his summers working at a camp near Montauk. That was really all Nico knew about Percy, but his lack of knowledge didn’t stop him from crushing on the older teen.

It didn’t help when Percy started to come into the shop regularly. The first time, Nico hadn’t thought much of it, aside from being surprised to see the older boy outside of school, much less in the very floral shop that his step-mother ran. Nico had been playing his game, leveling up his Lucario a few more levels when the bell above the door had rang, signalling a customer. He’d set his game aside and straightened the deep red-pink (“Pomegranate!” Persephone insisted) apron he wore before looking up to see the boy who’d come in.

“Can I help - ” Nico had paused the moment he’d recognized Percy, heart skipping a beat and cheeks growing warm. Oh, great. “You. What brings you here, Percy?”

“Ah, flowers,” Percy replied. He gave an awkward grin and gestured to the variety of flowers around him. “There’s someone I like and I thought flowers might be a start.”

Nico hadn’t ever thought of Annabeth as someone who liked flowers that much, but if Percy wanted to get Annabeth flowers, who was he to stop him? Persephone would probably go nuts on him if he lost a sale because he started arguing with a customer over what their crush liked. He was already one of the worst helpers she had because of his apathy towards flowers, doing the bare minimum she required of him for his paycheck - step-son or not, he worked in her shop, he earned his pay.

So Nico had spent over half an hour that day going over flowers with Percy, picking out a good variety of flowers, arranging them into a bouquet and placing them in a glass vase for Percy. Percy had paid only half-attention to what Nico told him about the various flowers and their meanings - Nico actually hated to admit that he knew a lot about the meanings of various flowers because, really, flowers weren’t his thing and he didn’t actually like them, it was just a job. In the end, Percy had paid for the bouquet with a smile and a ‘see you later’ that Nico could only think meant that Percy would see him at school the next day with Annabeth hanging on his arm.

That hadn’t been the case, though. Annabeth and Percy didn’t act any different at school, certainly not like Percy had surprised the girl with a rather beautiful bouquet with a bunch of flowers that meant Percy liked her. Maybe Nico had been right and Annabeth just wasn’t a flower kind of girl. He’d always had the thought that Annabeth Chase was the kind of girl more impressed by books than flowers.

It had surprised Nico a couple of days later when Percy was back in the shop, looking for more flowers. Once again, Nico set aside his game and stepped out from behind the counter to help the other boy. They spent a longer time looking for the perfect bouquet. Nico made sure that Percy knew the meanings of the flowers and specific colors in the bouquet this time, though he wasn’t convinced yet that Percy was fully paying attention to those details.

“Good luck with your crush,” Nico had told Percy after the older boy paid for the new bouquet.

Percy had just smiled at Nico, one of those crooked grins that showed his not-quite-straight teeth that Nico often saw across the gym as Percy talked to Jason and Frank. “I’m trying.”

It kept up like that for a while, Percy coming into the shop and Nico going over to help him. It became a weekly thing and, if Nico noticed that Percy spent longer in the shop with each shop, he didn’t mind. They didn’t just talk flowers after the second visit. Percy asked about Nico, little questions like what kind of things he liked to do in his free time, what kind of music he liked, if he had a girlfriend -

“ - or boyfriend,” Percy had added after a moment.

“Nope,” had been Nico’s immediate answer as he picked up a vase of white roses to put on the display case. “I’m not seeing anyone. Mitchell’s been trying to hook me up with Will's brother, but I don't think he's my type, really."

"So, what is your type?"

Nico could only shrug in response. Really, what else was he supposed to have done? It wasn't as though he could have told Percy that his type was standing in the middle of his step-mother's flower shop, sharing a bit of dumb small-talk.

Once again, Percy had left the shop, after a long visit, with another bouquet. With each visit, Nico started to open up to Percy and smiled lightly at him whenever he popped in. He actually looked forward to being in the shop, no longer complaining when Persephone asked him to take a shift, since there wasn’t really a pattern to when Percy came in. His step-mother was surprised by the change and, when she found out it was because Nico was talking to one of the customers, she actually didn’t seem to mind. Hazel found out and lightly teased her brother, encouraging him to spend time outside the shop with Percy, but those suggestions only had Nico shaking his head.

Nico liked just having those visits in the shop. For those visits, he had Percy’s attention. He was happy with that. Oh, his crush on the older boy was growing, despite knowing that Percy was with Annabeth, and it made things a little awkward on his part at times, especially at school, but Nico could deal with that. Talking to Percy while the older boy looked around the shop was enough. He’d eventually get over his crush and move on. That’s how crushes worked, right? Eventually, you had to move on. Percy was cute and Nico really liked him, but nothing would come out of it as long as Percy was buying flowers weekly for Annabeth.

Moving on was the best option right now. There was only so long Nico could secretly crush on Percy before he got hurt. Percy would eventually stop coming to the shop, he’d stop talking to Nico, stop smiling at him across the classroom and shouting a greeting across the gym. Nico could enjoy the visits in the mean time, but he needed to get over the boy he couldn’t have.

“I’ve been thinking,” he told Percy, as he prepared a bouquet that was on order. It was a bouquet he’d made a couple of times before; red-tipped ginger roses and calla lillies, for an elderly man who bought the bouquet every year for his wife on their anniversary. “I think I’m going accept Mitchell’s offer to hook me up with Austin.”

To his surprise, Percy did a double-take and nearly dropped the vase he’d been holding for Nico. “You what?”

Nico arched a brow at him. “Well, Mitchell keeps saying I should go out with him.”

“I thought you said Austin wasn’t your type,” Percy pointed out. There was a confused expression on the older boy’s face, Percy’s brow furrowed and lower lip pulled in slightly. What had Nico confused was the hurt look in the other teen’s eyes.

“To be fair, it’s not like I’ve given him a chance,” Nico countered. He finished trimming the stems of the flowers he was working with, choosing to focus on the bouquet, rather than Percy’s reaction to his news. “It might be worth going on a couple of dates to find out.”

“But - ”

“What?” Nico didn’t see why Percy was protesting. The fact that Percy was trying to argue with him over this only made him feel awkward, like he was doing something wrong by deciding to give Austin a chance, like moving on was a mistake. “It’s about time I started dating and if Austin’s interested, why not give him a chance?”

Percy set down the vase that he’d been holding tighter for the last couple of minutes. The look of hurt and confusion on his face had been replaced by a determination that Nico couldn’t quite understand. Was Percy going to reprimand him for going out with someone he wasn’t that interested in? Not that it was any of Percy’s business who Nico dated; they’d become friends over the last several weeks since the older teen started coming into the shop, but that still didn’t give Percy the right to dictate who Nico went out with.

“You’ll give him a chance, but not me?” Percy asked.

It was Nico’s turn to be taken aback. Had he heard right? “Wha - why would - what?”

Percy shook his head, his determination slipping. “Sorry, that came out wrong,” he told Nico. He ran his hands through his hair, pushing his bangs back away from his eyes. Nico could tell that Percy was nervous, panicked almost. “I just...you couldn’t tell, could you?”

“I could probably tell better, if you explained what I’m supposed to tell,” Nico pointed out. He crossed his arms over his chest, pulling his lower lip into his mouth to tear at the skin with his teeth, as he often did when he felt anxious. It was a terrible habit, he knew, especially when his lips were chapped already, but it was a hard habit to break. “Percy, what are you talking about? You have a girlfriend.”

“No, I don’t.”

Nico paused. “But - you and Annabeth?”

“We’re just friends,” Percy explained. “She’s my best friend. We’ve known each other since we were twelve. I love her, but not like that. Not like she deserves.” He sighed, shuffling his feet as he shifted, slipping his hands into the pocket of his blue hoodie. “No, Annabeth’s not my girlfriend. I’m...I’m interested in someone else.”

“You mean me.” Nico didn’t try to beat around the bush. Percy had already made it clear he was interested in him. Why he didn’t just come out and say it, Nico wasn’t sure.

“Yeah, I mean you.” Percy brought one hand out of his pocket to brush his bangs back again. “I thought maybe you’d pick up on it when I started coming here so often.”

Nico couldn’t help a snort of amusement. “You came in and started buying flowers, I assumed you’d asked Annabeth out and were buying them for her.”

Percy wrinkled his nose, a bit of an amused smile over his lips. “Annabeth’s not really the flower type. You can’t trust her with plants. She gets so absorbed in her drafting, she’d let the plants die.”

Nico nodded. “That’s what I figured.” He raised an eyebrow. “If you haven’t been buying them for Annabeth, what’ve you been doing with them?”

Percy shrugged. “I give them to my mom. She likes them a lot, by the way. I might have to keep buying them, whether you start going out with me or not.”

“I can’t go out with you,” Nico told Percy, shaking his head. He cracked a small smile a moment later. “You haven’t asked yet.”

“Well, fine, will you go out with me?” Percy asked.

“On one condition,” Nico said. “Don’t buy me flowers. I get enough of them here.”

Percy laughed. “I promise, no flowers. I’m not sure I can afford them for you and my mom.”

Nico’s smile widened. “You know, I could probably convince Persephone to let me give you a boyfriend discount.”

“Save that talk for after a date or two,” Percy told him. He smiled at Nico, that same crooked grin that showed just a sliver of his not-quite-straight teeth that Nico had been finding more and more attractive every time he saw it. “Are you free for dinner tonight?”

“I am now.”

“Then I’ll pick you up at seven,” Percy promised. He picked up the bouquet he’d chosen earlier and pulled out a twenty to cover it. Nico took the bill and rang up the bouquet, counting out the change as he handed it to Percy. “I should get home and let my mom know I finally asked out the cute boy at the flower shop.”

Nico felt his cheeks heat up. “I hope she tells you it took you long enough.”

Percy laughed and stuffed the change into his pocket. “She probably will. I’ll see you at seven.”

With that, Percy left and Nico was left standing behind the counter with a small smile on his lips and a blush on his cheeks. He finished the bouquet he’d been working on, putting it in the vase to wait for pick up, then called Hazel to tell her all about the latest visit.

 

 


End file.
